title: Evaluation of neutrophil apoptosis in horses with acute abdominal disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify peripheral blood neutrophil apoptosis in equine patients with acute abdominal disease (ie, colic) caused by strangulating or nonstrangulating intestinal lesions and compare these values with values for horses undergoing elective arthroscopic surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  20 client-owned adult horses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Peripheral blood was collected from horses immediately prior to and 24 hours after surgery for treatment of colic (n = 10) or elective arthroscopic surgery (10), and neutrophils were counted. Following isolation by means of a bilayer colloidal silica particle gradient and culture for 24 hours, the proportion of neutrophils in apoptosis was detected by flow cytometric evaluation of cells stained with annexin V and 7-aminoactinomycin D. Values were compared between the colic and arthroscopy groups; among horses with colic, values were further compared between horses with and without strangulating intestinal lesions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Percentage recovery of neutrophils was significantly smaller in preoperative samples (median, 32.5%) and in all samples combined (35.5%) for the colic group, compared with the arthroscopy group (median, 66.5% and 58.0%, respectively). No significant differences in the percentages of apoptotic neutrophils were detected between these groups. Among horses with colic, those with strangulating intestinal lesions had a significantly lower proportion of circulating apoptotic neutrophils in postoperative samples (median, 18.0%) than did those with nonstrangulating lesions (66.3%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The smaller proportion of apoptotic neutrophils in horses with intestinal strangulation suggested that the inflammatory response could be greater or prolonged, compared with that of horses with nonstrangulating intestinal lesions. Further investigations are needed to better understand the relationship between neutrophil apoptosis and inflammation during intestinal injury.
authors.affiliation: Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Krista
authors.forename: Nathaniel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Jennifer G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: Martin O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Furr
authors.forename: Virginia A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Buechner-Maxwell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D003085:Colic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000378:metabolism*